Cleveland Baseball Insider's 2022 Guardians Minor League Player And Pitcher Of The Year
Cleveland Baseball Insider is proud to announce our Cleveland Guardians 2022 Minor League players of the year in outfielder Will Brennan and right-handed pitcher Tanner Bibee.
CBI 2022 Guardians Player of the year - Will Brennan
Cleveland Guardians 24-year-old outfield prospect Will Brennan enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2022 playing in his third season with the organization after being selected in the eighth round of the 2019 MLB draft out of Kansas State University.
Brennan started his year with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks where he hit .311 with 17 extra base hits and 39 runs batted in while posting a .886 OPS before being promoted to Triple-A Columbus after just 36 games.
Over his next 93 games with Columbus Brennan would hit .316 with 40 extra base hits and 68 runs batted in while sporting an .838 OPS.
Brennan between both levels combined for 166 hits which led the Guardians farm system and was tied for the most in all minor league baseball for the 2022 season. His 40 doubles also led the organization and was tied for the second most in the minor leagues.
For Brennan he would end up with 107 runs batted on the season which was 23 more than the next most in the Guardians farm system over Jhonkensy Noel who drove in 84 on the year.
The 107 runs batted in was the first time a player in the organization reached the 100 RBI mark since Bobby Bradley drove in 102 back during the 2016 season. Brennan also became one of only eight players to drive in 100 or more runs during a single season for Cleveland in the minor leagues covering the past 20 years.
Brennan also led the farm with a .314 average amongst all qualified batters. He was the only player in the Guardians farm system to hit better than .300 on the season. In fact, the next highest average was a tie 36 points lower at .278 by Angel Martinez and Jorge Burgos.
His 57 extra base hits on the year were second most in the farm system on just behind Jhonkensy Noel's 60 mark. The 57 extra base hits came on 40 doubles, 4 triples and 13 home runs.
He would finish third overall in OPS at .850 over his 129 games on the season and fourth in stolen bases with 20, on base percentage at .479 and wRC+ 127.
Brennan would be rewarded for his tremendous minor league season having his contract purchased from Triple-A Columbus on September 21st earning a promotion to the major leagues.
CBI 2022 Guardians Pitcher of the year - Tanner Bibee
Cleveland Guardians 23-year-old right-handed pitcher Tanner Bibee had a spectacular first pro-season in 2022 after being selected in the 5th round of the 2021 MLB draft out of Cal State Fullerton.
Bibee made his pro-debut with High-A Lake County making 12 starts posting a 2-1 record with 2.59 ERA over 59.0 innings pitched. Bibee would strikeout 86 batters and allow just 13 walks over the 59.0 innings.
His strong start would earn him a promotion to Double-A Akron on July 2nd. The move from A-Ball to Double-A is usually a tough transition for a lot of pitchers but not for Bibee who only put-up better numbers at Akron.
In 13 starts with the RubberDucks Bibee would go 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA over 73.2 innings pitched. He would strikeout 81 batters to just 14 walks allowed while holding opponents to a .194 batting average. He would post a ridiculous 0.88 WHIP over the 73.2 innings.
Overall, he would finish 8-2 with a 2.17 ERA while striking out 167 batters over 132.2 innings pitched. He would allow just 27 walks, 101 hits and a WHIP under 1.00 at 0.96 with batters hitting for just a .211 average against him.
Tanner's fastball sits mid 90's and can touch upper 90's but his command of the fastball may be his best attribute and he fills the zone with all four of his offerings.
He would show off his strike throwing ability leading the Guardians farm system in SO/BB ratio at 6.19 and BB/9 at just 1.83.
Bibee would finish second in the farm system in strikeouts with 167 on the season only trailing Logan Allen who would strikeout 177 on the year. He would also finish second in the system in FIP at 2.80 only behind Jack Leftwich's leading 2.49 mark.
He would also finish the year third in ERA amongst all qualified pitchers in the organization at 2.17, WHIP at 0.96 and SO% at 32.4%.
Bibee's put himself on the doorstep of being a possible option at some point at the major league level as soon as the 2023 season. His meteoric rise from fifth round pick to now one of the top arms in the entire farm system was one of the many highlights in a very talented and deep Guardians organization.
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Read More:
Oscar Gonzalez Is Doing It All For The Guardians Right Now
A Couple Of Guardians Received Awards For The Month Of September
Jose Ramirez Eclipses Cleveland Franchise Record, Cements His Place Among All-Time Legends
WATCH: Will Brennan Hits First Major League Home Run
Takeaways from Bo Naylor's Major League Debut
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